Advertising spend continues to rebound globally, though increases slowed in the first quarter of 2013. According to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report, global advertising grew just 1.9 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Trends fluctuated across the regions, as quarterly spending dropped in Europe, marginally increased in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Asian-Pacific, and remained flat in North America.

Spending in the Middle East and Africa continued to recover from the spending decline of early 2012, as advertising spend grew 2.9 percent during Q1. Despite the upward progression, the region remains affected by the civil unrest in Egypt, one of the region’s largest markets, where ad spend declined by 20 percent.

Latin America was the star performer for the first quarter with ad spend growth of 11.9 percent. Impressively, spending grew in all countries in the region during the period. This emerging region does, however, face its own challenges, as some countries, like Argentina, are experiencing rising unemployment and high inflation.

In looking at Europe, it’s clear that ad spend is still declining under the weight of the region’s economic problems. It seems unlikely that the region will recover from these challenges in the short term.

Growth in ad expenditures steadily continued in the Asia-Pacific, where spending grew 5.8 percent in the first quarter. The best performers in the region were China, Indonesia and Philippines, which all saw roughly 20 percent growth. Japan was the only country where ad spend decreased (down 1.1%).